Charles FitzClarence

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Charles FitzClarence

Charles FitzClarence VC (born May 8, 1865 in Bishopscourt , County Kildare ; † November 12, 1914 in Polygoonbos , Zonnebeke , Belgium ) was an Irish-English brigadier general and holder of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for bravery in the face of the enemy, awarded in the British and Commonwealth Forces.

Life

Charles FitzClarence was born to Captain George FitzClarence (April 15, 1836– March 24, 1894) and Maria Henrietta Scott (1841– July 27, 1912). He had a twin brother named Edward. His paternal grandfather was George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster , the illegitimate son of William, Duke of Clarence , later King William IV. In 1886 he joined the Royal Fusiliers . Since he was often sick at first, he spent most of the time in administrative and staff functions. In 1899 he volunteered for service in Mafeking, South Africa, where he trained a squadron of the Protectorate Regiment.

FitzClarence received the Victoria Cross at the age of 34 and was a Captain in The Royal Fusiliers , British Army , during the Second Boer War :

“On the 14th October, 1899, Captain Fitz Clarence went with his squadron of the Protectorate Regiment , consisting of only partially trained men, who had never been in action, to the assistance of an armored train which had gone out from Mafeking. The enemy were in greatly superior numbers, and the squadron was surrounded for a time, and it looked as if nothing could save them from being shot down. Captain FitzClarence, however, by his personal coolness and courage inspired the greatest confidence in his men, and, by his bold and efficient handling of them, not only succeeded in relieving the armored train, but inflicted a heavy defeat on the Boers, who lost 50 killed and a large number wounded, his own losses being 2 killed and 15 wounded. The moral effect of this blow had a very important bearing on subsequent encounters with the Boers. On the 27th October, 1899, Captain Fitz Clarence led his squadron from Mafeking across the open, and made a night attack with the bayonet on one of the enemy's trenches. A hand-to-hand fight took place in the trench, while a heavy fire was concentrated on it from the rear. The enemy was driven out with heavy loss. Captain Fitz Clarence was the first man into the position and accounted for four of the enemy with his sword. The British lost 6 killed and 9 wounded. Captain FitzClarence was slightly wounded himself. With reference to these two actions, Major-General Baden-Powell states that had this officer not shown an extraordinary spirit and fearlessness the attacks would have been failures, and we should have suffered heavy loss both in men and prestige.

On the 26th December, 1899, during the action at Game Tree, near Mafeking, Captain FitzClarence again distinguished himself by his coolness and courage, and was again wounded (severely through both legs). "

“On October 14, 1899, Captain FitzClarence and his squadron of the Protectorate Regiment, consisting of only partially trained men who had never been on duty, went to the aid of an armored train that had driven from Mafeking. The number of enemies was very high and the squadron was surrounded for a while and it looked like nothing could save them from being shot down. Captain FitzClarence, however, by his personal coolness and courage, instilled the greatest confidence in his men, and by his bold and efficient handling he not only succeeded in relieving the armored train, but caused a heavy burden on the Boers who had lost Loss of 50 dead and a large number of wounded, with own losses of 2 dead and 15 wounded. The moral impact of this blow had a very important influence on the later encounters with the Boers.

On October 27, 1899, Captain FitzClarence led his squadron of Mafeking across the open area and attacked one of the enemy trenches with the bayonet at night. Close combat took place in the trench, on which heavy fire was concentrated from behind. The enemy was driven out at heavy loss. Captain FitzClarence was the first man in the position and identified four opponents with his sword. The British lost 6 dead and 9 injured. Captain FitzClarence was slightly wounded himself. In relation to these two actions, Major General Baden-Powell states that, had this officer shown no extraordinary attitude and fearlessness, the attacks would have been a failure and we would have suffered severe loss in both men and reputation.

On December 26, 1899, during the action in Game Tree near Mafeking, Captain FitzClarence again distinguished himself for his daring and courage and was wounded again (badly in both legs). "

His boldness in battle earned him the nickname 'The Demon'. He served in South Africa until February 1901 and then moved to the newly established Irish Guards . In 1904 he graduated from Staff College and in July 1909 took command of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. When the First World War broke out, he was promoted to brigadier general and was given command of the newly founded 29th Brigade.

On September 27, 1914, he replaced Brigadier General Ivor Maxse as commander of the 1st Guard Brigade of the British Expeditionary Force . He held this command until his death.

On the morning of November 12th, the Prussian Guard attacked British troops along Menin Street. Thirteen battalions of them came, but the Prussian guard only broke through in three places. The next morning FitzClarence attacked. The general himself decided to lead the way to his old regiment and paid for that decision with his life.

In his dispatch of November 20, 1914, Sir John French said: “Another officer, whose name I was given special mention, was Brigadier General FitzClarence, VC, who commanded the 1st Guard Brigade. Unfortunately he was killed in the night attack on November 11th. His loss will be hard to feel. "

He fell with 49 years in Polygoonbos, Zonnebeke, Belgium as commander of the 1st Brigade.

He is the highest ranking officer named Ypres on the Menenpoort monument , as he has no known grave.

On April 20, 1898, he married in the Citadel Church in Cairo Violet Spencer-Churchill (June 13, 1864-22 December 1941), daughter of Lord Alfred Spencer-Churchill and granddaughter of George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough . The couple had two children:

literature

  • The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
  • Brian DH Clarke: A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men . In: The Irish Sword . 1986, pp. 185-287.
  • List of Irish Victoria Cross recipients (Dept of Economic Development 1995)
  • Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
  • Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
  • "Elegant Extracts" - The Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the VC (JP Kelleher, 2001)
  • Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the Victoria Cross
  • Turtle Bunbury , The Glorious Madness, Tales of The Irish and The Great War ,
    Charles FitzClarence - Kildare's Royal VC Winner, p.37, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 12 (2014), ISBN 978-0-7171-6234-5
  • Spencer Jones (ed.) Stemming the Tide: Officers and Leadership in the British Expeditionary Force 1914. Helion & Co. (2013)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Spencer Jones: Stemming the Tide: Officers and Leadership in the British Expeditionary Force 1914 (=  Wolverhampton Military Studies . Volume 1 ). Helion & Company, Solihull 2013, ISBN 978-1-909384-45-3 .
  2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 27208, HMSO, London, 6 July 1900, p. 4196 ( PDF , English).
  3. ↑ Casualty. Retrieved June 4, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME FitzClarence, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish-English brigadier general and Victoria Cross bearer
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Bishopscourt , County Kildare
DATE OF DEATH November 12, 1914
Place of death Polygoonbos , Zonnebeke , Belgium